Army chief Upendra Dwivedi said on Monday that patrolling and grazing in traditional areas has started in eastern Ladakh’s Demchok and Depsang sub-sectors along the Line of Actual Control between India and China.

Addressing the Army’s annual press conference, Dwivedi said that the situation at the Line of Actual Control was sensitive but stable, and that the military was well-poised to deal with any eventuality.

Demchok and Depsang were among the key points of contention during talks held between the corps commanders of India and China’s armies to reduce border tensions after the clashes in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley in June 2020. Indian and Chinese troops completed disengagement in these two areas on October 30.

The army chief said on Monday that he has authorised all his co-commanders “to handle these issues at the ground level with respect to patrolling and grazing so that these trivial issues can be resolved at the military level itself”. India’s troop deployment along the Line of Actual Control, Dwivedi said, was balanced and robust.

He said that after the tensions began in eastern Ladakh in 2020, Indian and Chinese troops had moved forward and stopped the other side from going to traditional areas where they had been patrolling. “What has happened in the disengagement is that both sides have agreed to go back to the areas where both sides feel.…that they used to come for traditional patrolling,” he said.

Dwivedi said that India and China have completed two rounds of verification patrolling.

“Both sides are quite satisfied about it,” he said. “Similarly, grazing grounds have also been mutually agreed upon.”

Border tensions between India and China escalated after June 2020 when a violent face-off between Indian and Chinese soldiers took place in Ladakh’s Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control. It led to the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers. Beijing said that the clash left four of its soldiers dead.

Initial rounds of disengagement occurred at various points of tension, including Galwan Valley, Hot Springs and Pangong Tso, but Demchok and Depsang had remained points of contention.

Since the Galwan clashes, China and India have held several rounds of military and diplomatic talks to resolve their border standoff.

‘Pakistan orchestrating violence in J&K’

Additionally, Dwivedi alleged that violence in Jammu and Kashmir was being orchestrated by Pakistan, which he described as the epicentre of terrorism.

If world powers do not help India in stopping Pakistan from fueling violence, terrorist infiltration will continue, said the Army chief. He also stated that the Army inducted about 15,000 additional troops last year, due to which, he claimed, violence levels had gone down.

Dwivedi said that security forces killed 73 alleged militants in 2024, adding that about 60% were Pakistani nationals.

The Army chief noted that a voter turnout of about 60% was recorded in Jammu and Kashmir in the Lok Sabha elections and Assembly polls. “This means that the local population is going with peace,” he said.

A turnout of 63.8% was registered in the Assembly election, while a turnout of 58.8% was recorded in the Lok Sabha elections.

‘Army working to establish peace in Manipur’

Dwivedi also said that the overall situation in the North East was gradually improving. With respect to conflict-hit Manipur, he claimed that “synergised efforts of security forces and proactive government initiatives” had brought the situation under control.

“However, cyclic incidents of violence continue,” he said.

Manipur has been hit by ethnic unrest between the Meiteis and Kuki-Zo-Hmars communities since May 2023, with violence having killed at least 258 persons and displaced over 59,000. There was an uptick in violence in the state in November, when radical Meitei group Arambai Tenggol attacked a Hmar village in the Jiribam district.